• 


/ 


OP 


TO 


of  ffje 


DECEMBER    17,    1857. 


IDEC'7    19431 


MESSAGE 


OP 


GOVERNOB  OF  TENNESSEE, 


TO 


BOTH  HOUSES  OF  THE  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY, 


DECEMBER  17,  1857. 


NASHVILLE: 

C.    TOPIBETT    Ss    OO.,    IPIEl  I  3NTT  E  !R,  S. 

1857. 


MESSAGE. 


EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT, 
Nashville,  December  16,  1857. 

Gentlemen  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  : 

AT  the  commencement  of  the  present  General  Assembly,  we 
were  met  on  every  hand  by  the  evidences  of  an  unusual 
degree  of  prosperity,  which  prevailed  throughout  the  whole 
country.  Our  fields,  for  a  number  of  years,  had  yielded  abun- 
dant crops,  and  the  range  of  prices  gave  assurance  of  a  full 
reward  to  each  and  every  branch  of  industry  and  production. 

But  within  the  last  sixty  days,  we  have  witnessed  the  suspen- 
sion of  specie  payments  by  almost  the  entire  banking  institutions 
of  our  own  State,  as  well  as  those  of  most  of  the  States  of  the 
Union;  the  effect  of  which  has  been  a  sudden  and  wide- spread 
commercial  revulsion  derangement  of  the  exchanges  and  mone- 
tary concerns  of  the  whole  country  ;  seriously  crippling  the  opera- 
tions of  trade,  and  to  a  great  extent  paralysing  the  arm  of  indus- 
try and  enterprise. 

Whilst  it  is  impossible  for  legislation  to  relieve  the  people  of 
these  evils  and  disastrous  results,  yet  they  may  be,  to  some  extent 
ameliorated,  and  their  recurrence  prevented  by  wise  and  whole- 
gome  legislative  provisions  and  restrictions. 

In  order  that  we  may  determine  upon  the  proper  remedy,  it  is 
necessary  that  we  understand,  if  possible,  the  cause  of  the  present 
panic  and  monetary  derangement. 

It  is  shown  by  the  report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  of 


6 

the  United  States,  to  the  Congress  just  assembled,  that  on  the  1st 
of  January,  1857,  the  immediate  liabilities  of  the  banks  of  the 
several  States  were  as  follows : 

Notes  in  circulation,  -     $214,778,822 

Amount  due  depositors,  230,351,352 


Aggregate  immediate  liabilities,    -  $445,130,174 

Against  which  they  had  in  specie  in  their  vaults,  $58,349,838  ; 
making  about  ($7.66)  seven  dollars  and  sixty-six  cents  of  imme- 
diate liabilities  for  one  dollar  in  their  vaults  ;  showing,  con- 
clusively, that  the  system  throughout  the  whole  Union  is  un- 
sound, unreliable,  and  fraught  with  a  multitude  of  evils,  many 
of  which  the  country  is  now  unfortunately  experiencing. 

The  reports  of  the  various  banks  in  Tennessee  show,  that  on 
the  1st  January,  1857,  their  immediate  liabilities  were  as  fol- 
lows: 

Notes  in  circulation  -  -     $9,021,475 

Amount  due  depositors,  -  5,051,256 

Aggregate  immediate  liabilities,  -  §14,072,731 

Against  which  they  had  in  specie  in  their  vaults,  $2,325,823 ; 

making  about  six  dollars  of  immediate  liabilities,  to  one  dollar  of 

specie  in  the  vaults. 

And  on  the  1st  day  of  July,  1857,  as  follows  : 

Notes  in  circulation,  - 

Amount  due  depositors,   - 


• 


Aggregate  immediate  liabilities,  -  $10,582,086 

Against  which  they  had  in  specie  in  their  vaults,  $2,670,751  ; 
making  about  four  dollars  of  immediate  liabilities  to  one  dollar  in 
specie. 

From  these  facts,  it  is  evident  that  on  the  1st  of  January,  1857, 
the  banks  of  our  own  State  had  reached  a  point  of  expansion 
dangerous  to  themselves,  and  injurious  to  the  best  interests  of  the 
community  ;  the  effect  having  been  to  cheapen  currency,  and 
thereby  greatly  augment  the  prices  of  every  species  of  property  ; 
to  stimulate  over-trading,  by  offering  such  inducements  and  facili- 
ties for  that  character  of  hazard  as  seldom  fail  to  lure  thousands 
of  our  citizens  from  the  fields  of  labor  and  productiveness,  to  the 
more  inviting,  yet  more  dangerous  fields  of  speculation ;  to  encour- 
age habits  of  luxury  and  wasteful  extravagance,  and  to  drive  from 


circulation,  if  not  from  the  country,  the  precious  metals ;  for  it  is 
a  well-established  law  of  trade,  that  two  classes  of  currency  of 
unequal  value  cannot  circulate  together,  the  more  valuable 
always  retiring  from  the  field  of  unequal  competition,  to  seek  a 
market  where  it  is  more  properly  appreciated,  and  can  be  more 
profitably  invested. 

But  after  having  expanded  this  bubble  almost  to  the  point  of 
explosion,  and  invited  their  victims  far  out  upon  the  dangerous 
chances  of  speculation,  between  the  1st  of  January  and  1st  of  July, 
1857,  they  suddenly  and  violently  contracted  their  circulation  from 
nine  to  about  six  millions  of  dollars.  Could  the  banks  have 
stopped  at  this  point,  the  effect  might  not  have  been  so  great  as 
not  to  be  overcome  by  the  energies  of  our  people,  and  the  won- 
derful resources  of  the  country,  without  serious  and  lasting  injury* 
But  so  great  an  expansion  must  necessarily  have  a  corresponding 
reaction  :  the  contraction  doubtless  continued  in  the  same  ratio  from 
July  to  the  present  period,  reducing  their  circulation  to  a  point  not 
far  above  $3,000,000;  in  the  meantime,  having  suspended  specie 
payment,  leaving,  as  the  only  alternative  for  the  people,  in 
their  financial  extremes,  an  irredeemable  and  depreciated  paper 
as  their  only  currency  or  medium  of  exchange,  producing  thereby 
a  general  and  great  depreciation  in  the  price  of  every  species  of 
property,  and  almost  universal  panic  and  distress. 

The  history  of  our  banking  system  has  presented,  from  the  be- 
ginning, one  perpetual  scene  of  expansions  and  contractions,  pro- 
ducing periodically  a  flush  in  the  monetary  affairs  of  the  country, 
which  is  invariably  succeeded  by  contraction,  panic,  and  pecuniary 
distress;  and  as  long  as  the  system  is  continued  as  at  present 
organized,  these  scenes  must  be  of  frequent  recurrence.  A  paper 
currency  can  never  be  safe — that  is,  not  the  actual  representative 
of  capital. 

It  may  be  confidently  stated,  upon  the  highest  financial  author- 
ity, that  a  paper  currency  of  more  than  two  of  circulation  to  one 
of  specie,  or  three  of  immediate  liabilities  to  note-holders  and 
depositors,  to  one  of  coin,  cannot  be  sustained  as  a  sound  con- 
vertible currency.  When  the  disproportion  between  their  specie 
and  immediate  liabilities  runs  higher  than  this,  the  banks  are,  at 
all  times,  liable  to  be  driven  to  suspension,  if  not  to  insolvency, 
and  especially  so  where  the  circulation  is  local,  as  it  is  with  all 
the  banks  in  Tennessee, 


8 

Under  the  present  system,  bank  notes  do  not  represent  coin  or 
capital.  Their  issues  are  not  limited  by  the  amount  of  metal 
in  their  vaults;  for  we  have  seen  many  of  our  banks  issuing  as 
high  as  four,  five,  six,  and  in  some  instances,  ten  dollars  of  their 
circulation  for  one  in  specie.  Their  notes  are  the  mere  substitute 
for  coin  which  they  have  not  got,  and  their  ability  to  redeem  them 
is  made  to  depend  upon  their  collections  from  their  customers. 
The  ordinary  transaction  between  them  and  their  customers,  being 
purely  an  exchange  of  credits,  the  customer  paying  a  premium 
of  from  six  to  eight  per  cent,  per  annum  upon  the  credit  of  the 
bank. 

Can  this  system  furnish  to  the  community  what  they  so  much 
need  and  desire,  A  SOUND,  UNIFORM,  AND  CONVERTIBLE  CURRENCY  ?  for 
the  amount  of  currency  is  of  far  less  importance  to  the  people 
than  its  uniformity  and  soundness.  And  to  obtain  this,  is  the 
great  object  to  be  accomplished,  if  your  Legislature  would 
remedy  existing  evils. 

But  can  this  important  object  be  accomplished  as  long  as  bank 
notes  can  be  multiplied  at  the  mere  discretion  of  the  maker,  and 
to  any  extent  that  his  avarice  or  cupidity  may  prompt  ?  and 
which  is  but  too  often  multiplied,  as  we  have  seen,  far  beyond 
the  limits  of  prudence  and  safety. 

This  currency  may  pass  from  hand  to  hand  as  a  circulating 
medium,  and  for  a  time  answer  the  ends  of  trade  and  commerce, 
but  when  the  collapse  comes,  as  come  it  must,  the  disastrous  con- 
sequences are  felt  by  every  class  of  society;  the  laborer  is  thrown 
out  of  employment,  the  enterprising  merchant  is  crushed,  the 
wheels  of  the  manufacturer  are  stopped,  and  thousands  of  in- 
dustrious citizens  involved  in  irretrievable  ruin. 

Shall  we,  by  our  policy,  longer  contribute  to  these  fatal  results? 
The  evil  is  upon  us,  however,  and  its  recurrence  in  the  future 
can  only  be  prevented  by  eradicating  the  whole  system,  or  im- 
posing such  restrictions  upon  it  as  will  effectually  and  certainly 
check  over -issues  and  violent  expansions  and  contractions. 
Whether  it  be  thought  that  the  banks,  by  suspension,  have  for- 
feited their  charters  or  not,  no  one  doubts  the  authority  of  the 
sovereign  power  of  a  State  to  impose  such  additional  restraints 
as  may  be  necessary  to  secure  an  honest  and  faithful  execution 
of  the  trust  confided  to  them,  or  to  provide  such  security  as  may 
be  deemed  necessary  against  the  misuse  and  abuse  of  their  privi- 


9 

leges,  provided  these  restrictions  and  provisions  do  not  conflict 
with  any  fundamental  right,  or  defeat  the  primary  objects  of  the 
incorporation.  The  great  end  and  aim  of  the  charters  conferred 
upon  our  banks  was  to  secure  a  sound  currency;  and  any  legisla- 
tion to  this  end,  is  beyond  all  question,  within  the  legitimate 
scope  and  power  of  the  Legislature. 

It  is,  however,  believed  that  no  sudden  and  radical  change  of 
policy  can  be  adopted  without  inflicting  serious  injury  upon  the 
country,  and  prolonging,  if  not  increasing,  the  distress. 
I  respectfully  recommend  the  passage  of  a  law  requiring : 
1st.  That  the  banks  shall  resume  specie  payment  upon  a  day 
fixed,  and  as  early  as  practicable  ;  thus  making  our  currency  con- 
vertible, and  re-establishing  confidence  to  some  extent  at  least. 

2d.  That  from  and  after  a  given  day,  no  bank  or  branch  bank 
in  the  State  shall  issue  any  bill  of  the  denomination  of  five 
dollars  or  under;  and  upon  a  given  day,  within  a  reasonable  time 
thereafter,  they  shall  issue  no  note  or  bill  of  the  denomination  of 
ten  dollars  or  under ;  and  upon  a  given  day,  within  a  reasonable 
time  thereafter,  they  shall  issue  no  note  or  bill  of  the  denomina- 
tion of  twenty  dollars  or  under. 

3d.  That  upon  a  fixed  day,  within  a  reasonable  time  after  the- 
banks  cease  to  issue  notes  or  bills  of  the  various  prohibited  de- 
nominations of  twenty  dollars  and  under,  they  shall   cease  to 
circulate,  retiring  them   gradually — first  fives    and  under,  next 
tens,  and  lastly  twenties. 

The  withdrawal  of  small  notes  from  circulation,  would  not  only 
secure  a  metallic  one  in  their  stead,  for  all  the  smaller  operations 
of  trade,  thus  lessening  the  evil  with  that  class  of  community  who 
are  least  benefited  by  bank  accommodations,  and  yet  are  the 
most  serious  sufferers  from  a  depreciated  currency,  but  would 
tend  to  restrain  the  excessive  issues  of  banks,  and  give  to  them,  as 
well  as  to  the  public,  a  firmer  basis  to  rest  upon,  in  case  of  any 
unexpected  revulsion  in  our  commercial  affairs. 

4th.  That  no  note  or  bill,  issued  by  any  bank  not  within  the 
limits  of  the  State  of  Tennessee,  of  a  less  denomination  than  our 
own  banks  are  authorized  to  issue,  shall  circulate  within  the 
State.  And  that  no  banker,  broker,  corporation,  revenue  officer, 
or  any  person  exercising  a  licensed  privilege,  shall  pay  out  or 
circulate  the  notes  of  any  other  than  the  banks  of  our  own  State. 
If  private  bankers  are  allowed  to  issue  the  notes  of  banks  of 


10 

other  States,  they  might  usurp  almost  the  entire  circulation,  while 
our  own,  under  a  system  requiring  each  bank  to  pay  out  its  own 
issues  only,  would  be  driven  home  for  redemption.  The  restric- 
tions imposed  upon  our  banks,  for  the  purpose  of  securing  a  sound 
currency,  might  thus  fail  to  attain  the  end  in  view. 

5th.  That  no  bank  or  branch  bank  in  the  State,  shall  issue  or 
put  in  circulation,  any  note  or  bill  that  is  not  payable  in  specie  at 
the  counters  where  the  same  is  issued  or  put  in  circulation. 

The  issue  by  each  bank,  of  its  counter  notes  only,  would  confine 
the  circulation  of  each  bank  to  the  legitimate  wants  of  the  commu- 
munity,  upon  whose  trade  it  is  predicated.  It  would  tend  to 
secure  a  sound  currency  in  each  and  every  neighborhood  in  which 
a  bank  may  be  located,  by  affording  to  all  an  opportunity  of  con- 
verting into  coin,  without  expense,  whatever  paper  might  not  be 
needed  as  mere  matter  of  convenience  for  our  internal  trade. 

The  facility  for  returning  the  notes  thus  issued  upon  the  bank 
for  redemption,  would  serve  as  a  constant  check  upon  them,  and 
would  do  much  towards  keeping  them  within  safe  limits.  It  would 
put  an  end  to  that  system  of  flooding  the  community  with  the 
depreciated  or  doubtful  issues  of  our  own  or  foreign  institutions. 
In  my  opinion,  such  a  provision  is  indispensably  necessary  to  any 
wholesome  legislation  upon  the  subject. 

6th.  That  no  bank  shall  issue  more  than  two  of  circulation  for 
one  of  specie  in  its  vaults,  or  incur  liabilities  to  note  holders  and 
depositors  of  more  than  three  dollars  for  one  in  specie  in  its 
vaults. 

7th.  That  the  President  and  Cashier  of  each  and  every  bank  in 
the  State  shall  make  a  monthly  report,  upon  iheir  oaths,  to  some 
officer  of  the  State  Government,  the  real  condition  of  their  respec- 
tive banks  at  the  time  of  the  report,  and  that  the  report  be  published 
at  the  expense  of  the  respective  banks,  in  some  newspaper  at 
Nashville;  and  that  swearing  falsely  to  any  such  report,  shall  be 
deemed  perjury,  and  punished  accordingly. 

8th.  Such  penalties  and  forfeitures  for  the  violation  of  any  of 
these  provisions,  as  will  secure  implicit  obedience  to  them,  should 
be  provided. 

Whilst  it  may  be  admitted  that  the  Bank  of  Tennessee,  under 
the  control  of  its  present  able  and  efficient  president  and  directors, 
has  been  managed  with  an  amount  of  skill  and  ability  unsur- 
passed, if  indeed  it  has  been  equalled,  by  any  preceding  boards, 


11 

both  as  regards  profits,  and  the  observance  of  those  laws  of  bank- 
ing, which  tend  to  restrain  the  excessive  issues  of  its  own  branches, 
as  well  as  other  banking  institutions ;  yet  it  is  by  no  means  cer- 
tain that  the  State  will,  at  all  times,  be  able  to  obtain  either  the 
same  skill  or  integrity  for  its  fu  ure  management,  even  if  it  were 
deemed  politic  to  perpetuate  the  institution.  Indeed,  it  is  fearful 
to  contemplate  the  evil  that  might  be  produced,  if  the  bank  should 
ever  fall  into  the  hands  of  unskilful  and  dishonest  men !  What  pecu- 
niary loss  to  the  State — what  suffering  t  >  the  people  b  the  deprecia- 
tion of  its  circulation !  Great  as  these  might  be,  they  are  yet  as 
nothing  compared  with  the  injury  inflicted  by  tampering  with  the 
freedom  of  the  elective  franchise,  or  the  corruption,  in  other 
respects,  of  public  morals — silently,  unobserved  by  the  world,  but 
all  the  more  dangerous  to  that  high  sense  of  integrity  and  morality, 
which  are,  after  all,  the  only  true  safeguards  to  our  republican 
institutions.  It  is  also  confidently  believed  that  the  State  should 
not  engage  in  banking,  or  any  other  business  or  speculation,  in 
competition  with  her  citizens,  with  a  view  to  money-making,  and 
that  an  institution  of  this  character  can  never  be  so  \vell  or  so 
successfully  managed  by  the  government,  as  in  the  hands  of  private 
enterprise,  from  the  fact  of  the  liability,  under  every  new  administra- 
tion of  the  government,  to  an  entire  change  of  its  directory  and 
officers,  resulting,  very  often,  in  an  entire  change  in  the  policy  of  the 
bank.  In  addition  to  which,  it  may  truly  be  said,  that  you  rarely 
find  the  same  amount  of  care  and  energy  exercised  in  the  execution 
of  a  public  trust  that  is  common  to  the  prosecution  of  private  and 
individual  enterprise;  and  as  an  investment,  it  is  confidently 
believed,  that  if  the  entire  property  of  the  bank  was  converted 
into  money,  and  with  the  capital  of  the  bank  invested  in  the  six 
per  ceat.  bonds  of  the  State,  that  it  would  result,  ultimately,  in 
more  profit  to  the  treasury  than  our  present,  or  any  other  system 
of  State  banking  is  likely  to  do.  Thus  furnishing,  to  that  extent,  a 
home  market  for  our  State  securities,  already  depreciated  for  the 
want  of  it,  and  ridding  the  State  of  the  expensive  and  demoraliz- 
ing machinery  of  a  banking  institution,  and  of  the  hazards  neces- 
sarily incident  to  the  banking  business. 

The  President  and  Directors,  in  their  report  to  the  present  ses- 
sion, say  "  that  the  true  interests  of  the  State  will  hereafter  be  best 
promoted  by  a  dissolution  of  all  connection  with  the  banks  or  in- 
ternal improvement  companies,  at  as  early  a  period  as  the 


12 

finances  of  the  State  will  admit  of  it,  without  unnecessarily  op- 
pressing the  people,  a  d  with  clue  regard  to  the  public  faith 
pledged  to  them." 

I  recommend  that  you  fix  a  day  in  the  future,  and  as  soon  aa 
it  can  be  done,  without  distressing  our  people,  upon  v\hich  the 
Bank  of  Tennessee  and  her  branches  be  put  in  gradual  liquida- 
tion. 

The  time  should  be  fixed  far  enough  in  the  future,  to  give  all 
classes  of  the  community  reasonable  time  to  adapt  themselves 
and  their  business  to  the  inauguration  of  the  proposed  policy, 
and  the  liquidation  should  be  slow  and  gradual  in  its  operation, 
so  as  to  do  as  little  violence  as  possible  to  existing  interests,  by 
withdrawing  the  circulation  of  the  bank,  or  rapidly  collecting  its 
debts. 

My  distinguished  predecessor  has  already  laid  before  you  a  full 
statement  of  the  financial  condition  of  the  State,  showing  the 
actual  indebtedness,  present  and  prospective  liabilities,  &c.  I 
fully  concur  with  him  in  recommending  the  sale  of  all  the  stock 
owned  by  the  State  in  the  banks  and  internal  improvement  com- 
panies, and  the  appropriation  of  the  fund  to  the  payment  of  the 
actual  indebtedness  of  the  State,  believing,  as  I  do,  that  the  State 
is  never  profited  by  associations  or  partnerships  with  corporations 
or  stock  companies,  and  that  the  sooner  the  connection  is  severed 
the  better  for  the  interest  of  the  State. 

I  also  fully  concur  with  my  predecessor  in  recommending  an 
amendment  of  the  constitution  of  the  State,  so  as  to  fix  a  reason- 
able limit,  beyond  which  the  Legislature  shall  not  go,  in  creating 
a  debt  or  liability  of  the  State,  with-  ut  first  submitting  the  ques- 
tion Directly  to  the  people,  except  in  cases  of  invasion,  insurrec- 
tion or  rebellion.  Such  an  amendment  is  certainly  wise  and 
proper  in  itself,  securing  to  the  people  the  right  to  be  consulted, 
and  to  determine  for  themselves,  by  popular  vote,  whether  Ihey 
will  take  upon  themselves  the  liability  proposed  or  not;  especially 
in  view  of  the  fact  that  our  legislative  elections  are  generally 
made  to  turn  much  more  upon  party  considerations  and  federal 
politics,  than  upon  local  or  State  policy,  and  most  of  the  questions, 
out  of  which  have  sprung  these  heavy  liabilities,  have  been  very 
little  discussed,  if,  indeed,  they  have  been  discussed  at  all,  before 
the  people,  previous  to  their  enactment. 

Another  salutary  effect  following  such  an  amendment  is,  that  it 


13 

would  inspire  confidence  in  such  securiti  s  as  the  State  has  issued 
or  may  hereafter  issue,  throughout  the  money  markets  of  the  world  ; 
and  to  the  extent  that  you  convince  capitalists  that  e  have  not 
issued,  and  will  not  issue  bonds  beyond  our  ability  to  pay,  do 
you  restore  and  appreciale  the  cr  dit  of  the  S  ate.  And  in  this 
connection,  allow  me  earnestly  to  recommend,  that  the  faith  and 
credit  of  the  State  be  no  further  p' edged  in  aid  of  internal  im- 
provement or  otherwise.  The  reasons  for  this  recommendation 
are  too  palpable  to  require  a  aument;;  a  a  fficient  one,  however, 
is  found  in  th  '  fact,  that  the  actual  indebtedness,  present  and 
prospective  liabilities,  of  the  State  amounts  to  near  twenty 
trillions  of  dollars  ;  and  before  we  increase  the  aggregate  liabili- 
ties of  the  State  in  aid  of  those  works,  we  should  see  to  what 
extent  our  internal  improvement  experiments  are  successful. 

Under  various  acts  of  the  Legislature,  the  State  has,  by  the  en- 
dorsement of  the  Governor,  guaranteed  the  payment  of  the  prin- 
cipal and  interest  of  various  bonds  of  certain  corporations.  There 
is  no  provision  made  for  the  payment  of  the  serni-annually  accru- 
ing interest,  out  of  the  State  Treasury,  in  the  event  of  failure  to 
pay  on  the  part  of  the  corporations.  The  faith  and  credit  of  the 
State  is  certainly  as  much  pledged  for  the  prompt  payment  of  the 
interest  on  these  bonds,  as  it  is  upon  the  bonds  of  the  State  loaned 
to  companies ;  and  for  the  coupons  to  remain  unpaid  after  ma- 
turity, is  not  only  a  breach  of  the  good  faith  of  the  State,  but  it 
affects  most  injuriously  her  credit.  I,  therefore,  recommend 
the  passage  of  a  law  putting  those  bonds  upon  the  same 
footing  in  this  respect  with  the  bonds  of  the  State  loaned  to  com- 
panies, and  thus  secure  the  payment  of  the  interest,  as  well  as 
the  principal,  with  the  same  degree  of  promptitude. 

Almost  the  entire  indebtedness  and  liability  of  the  State  is 
evidenced  by  coupon  bonds,  a  coupon  being  issued  for  each  in- 
stalment of  the  interest.  These  coupons,  when  dissevered  from 
the  bond  to  which  they  belong,  may  pass  from  hand  to  hand, 
being  good  in  the  hands  of  the  holder,  against  the  Treasury  for 
their  amount ;  and  after  being  paid  and  ta  en  up,  if  by  any  acci- 
dent they  should  be  lost,  or  get  out  of  the  possession  of  the  proper 
officer,  they  might  be  again  presented  and  paid,  and  there  are  no 
means  provided  by  existing  laws  to  detect  the  error,  so  as  to  pre- 
vent the  re-payment.  I,  therefore,  recommend  the  pa  sage  of  a 
law  requiring  all  coupons,  when  paid,  to  be  returned  to  the 


14 

Comptroller  of  the  Treasury,  to  be  by  him  registered,  with  an 
accurate  and  full  description  of  the  same,  in  a  well-bound  book 
to  be  kept  for  that  purpose,  and  that  they  be  immediately  defaced 
by  some  mark  of  cancellation,  and,  at  stated  periods,  to  be  by  him 
burned,  in  the  presence  of  the  Governor,  Treasurer,  and  Secretary 
of  State,  or  any  two  of  them. 

All  of  which  recommendations  are   respectfully  submitted  to 
your  favorable  consideration. 

ISHAM  G.  HARRIS. 


••'""in  Hill  Kill  (fill  ||  |    ||  |  | 

A     000  220  797 


' 


